Norwich City have sacked Chris Hughton as their manager.
The Canaries have fallen to 17th on the Premier League table on the back of a run of just three wins in 18 fixtures since mid-December.
The negative run has forced the Norwich board to end the near-two-year reign of Hughton who took over at Carrow Road in June 2012.
"The Norwich City board has taken the decision to give the club the maximum chance to secure the points required between now and the end of the season to ensure retention of our Barclays Premier League status," read an official club statement.
"Neil Adams, 48, steps up from his current role as our Under-18s coach with a wealth of experience as a player, having won a league title with Everton in 1987 and made 206 appearances in all competitions as a stalwart wide player for Norwich City between 1993 and 1999.
"He moved into the club's youth coaching set-up and last year guided the young Canaries to their first FA Youth Cup triumph in 30 years, courtesy of a shock victory over Chelsea in the final, in which his side won both legs.
"Meanwhile, the club would like to place on record it's sincere thanks to Chris Hughton, Colin Calderwood and Paul Trollope for all of their hard work on behalf of the club since they took over in June 2012.
"Chris's achievement in guiding City to an 11th-place finish in the Premier League last season was an excellent one and he has represented the club with dignity throughout his tenure.
"However, the recent run of four defeats in our last six Premier League games and six consecutive away league defeats, left the club with no choice but to act, with five games still to play in the current campaign."
This season, Hughton led Norwich to eight wins, eight draws and 17 losses from 33 matches, scoring just 26 goals and conceding 52, for a total of 32 points. They currently sit five points clear of the relegation zone with five matches remaining.
